1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of containers which can be set in the ground for enclosing pump regulators and the like, and more specifically, to a meter box and cover having unique design aspects.
2. Prior Art
Meter boxes are well known in the art and are generally made of molded concrete with a fitted concrete or metal cover. These types of meter boxes suffer the obvious shortcomings in that they are heavy, and are susceptible to damage. Moreover, the covers are also difficult to use in that the cover must usually be completely removed in order to gain entry into the box. The cover, being a separable unit, may be misplaced at the job site necessitating the user to replace the cover with a new one. In addition, vandals can remove such covers or carry away a cover that the user failed to replace on the box. This leaves the contents of the box exposed; a potentially dangerous situation.
Many improvements have been made to this form of meter box, an example of which is disclosed by Brooks U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,013. Brooks shows a meter box molded out of a fibrous plastic material which has a substantially rigid plastic cover held by a ledge in the meter box. In order to open the box of Brook's the first embodiment discloses the use of a tool which is inserted into the cover and bent inwardly, thereby causing the rigid cover to yieldably disengage from the box.
This assembly also contains a number of obvious shortcomings discussed with reference to concrete meter boxes. For example, the meter box of Brooks still requires the user to completely remove the cover before access into the box is possible. Again, the propensity for loss and/or theft of the cover, as well as damage to the contents of the box, is possible. In utilizing the box of Brooks, each time the box is to be opened, a substantial inward-directed force must be applied to flexible members in order to get them to pivotably rotate a substantial distance so as to disengage the cover from the box.
In a second embodiment of Brooks, a relatively complex spring and latch system and associated tool means are disclosed. Under the first method used to open the box, the force that was needed to flex the interlocking members may weaken these members and therefore render such a cover susceptible to easy and quick deterioration. In the latter alternative, the expense of a spring actuated locking system substantially increases the cost of such a meter box. Finally, the meter box of Brooks contains various engaging and opening means which are of complicated design and therefore increase the cost of construction of such a box.
Thus, the prior art assemblies are either made of concrete and are extremely heavy and suspectible to damage due to dropping and the like or are made of plastic but contain members which are expensive to make and susceptible to easy deterioration. In addition, the problem of complete removal of the meter cover remains.
There is also the fact that prior art meter boxes could not be securely positioned in concrete and the like. Should the ground drop out beneath the concrete layer, the meter box would also drop out from the concrete thereby creating a hazardous opening. In order to prevent such openings from occurring which are very likely to occur in high risk earthquake areas, many regulations exist which require the meter box to be interlockable in the concrete. In the past, various complex outwardly extending members have been used, but such members require a complex four-part molding system in order to release the outwardly extending members from the mold. Moreover, such members have not been found to provide the necessary interlocking action with the concrete.
In Patent Application Serial No. 601,047, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,908 one method for interlocking the meter box in the concrete was taught. This prior method included the use of openings disposed in the top of the meter box which permitted the concrete to enter the top of the meter box to some extent prior to hardening. While this method has been found to be somewhat beneficial, the present invention teaches a method which securely locks the meter box into the concrete, which is easy to manufacture, and which contains none of the other shortcomings associated with the prior art.
In the present invention, the meter box includes vertically elongated tab members which extend down the sides of the meter box. These tab members extend outwardly from the sides of the meter box and because they are vertically disposed thereon, they are easily removable from well-known plastic molding equipment. Once formed, a horizontal member can be disposed between two such tab members which horizontal member is arranged and configured so as to be interlockable in concrete and the like. Thus, the present invention provides a meter box and an associated cover which is easy to install and to use and which contains none of the shortcomings of the prior art. Because the meter box of the present invention is relatively straightforward and simple to make, it is not susceptible to the problems of excessive wear and tear, and is relatively inexpensive to produce. Thus, the above-identified problems of the meter box and cover associated with prior art boxes are overcome.